Today, the Thursday before Thanksgiving is the Great American Smokeout. No it isn't a barbecue, it's the American Lung Association's drive to end smoking in America.
Now as an ex-cigarette smoker, you would think I would be sympathetic to those folks who still continue to sully their lungs with cigarette smoke, but I am not. I am tired of going to a bar and coming home reeking of cigarettes. Getting that smell out of leather is a real bitch!
I will freely admit I have smoked cigars in the past, and though I find the smell of cigar smoke a turn-on, I know many folks do not. So in the interest of the community I have forsaken the stogies and gone smoke-free. Now if Dallas would just pass an anti-smoking ordinance for all public buildings we all could breath more freely.
I understand there are those who claim it will hurt business in bars, but I know folks in San Francisco who tell me that the bars are just as busy as ever several years after a smoking ban. The lure of camaraderie, booze and sex is stringer than nicotine! In fact without the smoke, I might even show up at our local watering holes more often, knowing it wouldn't take a dry cleaners to remove the sediment of the nights visit from my clothing.
So here is to the Great American Smokeout. Good luck to everyone who is trying to quit. My suggestion as someone who did quit is just go cold turkey. Find lots of good books and take up a hobby. You surely can find better things to do with your hands than lift a burning tube of paper and tobacco to your lips every few seconds.
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3 comments:
Going cold turkey is fine if you smoke cigars, but cigarettes are a different story. There is no inhaling the smoke of cigars, just rolling the smoke around on your tongue, then blowing it out. What is a person supposed to do when they can't use the products out there to quit smoking? The gum, well, it just makes me want to smoke a cigarette after I spit the gum out. I'm allergic to the patches, and insurance won't pay the high price for the pills.
What do think people like me should do to quit? Going cold turkey might work, but it would also cause my marriage to fail, as my hubby wouldn't be able to stand me, and I don't think I could even stand myself. I don't mean to come down on you, I know you are a good person, but you really don't understand the addiction effects that cigarettes have on a person. Have a little compassion for these people that smoke...truth be told, most of them are beating themselves up because they can't quit, no matter how much they truly want to. What bothers me the most...government says smoking is so bad for your health, but they still sell cigarettes...why...because they want the tax money they get for every sell. That doesn't sound like they really care about us, now does it???
I understand smokinng is a hard habit to break. I smoked 2 packs of cigarettes a day for almost 12 years. Cold turkey worked for me I think because I had a lot of distraction at the time. I also suspect I was a real bastard to live with for a while, but luckily no one noticed.
I have lots of compassion for smokers and I think quitting is different for everyone. I do understand the addiction effect, having been addicted to other substances far less legal than tobacco. Luckily for me, that is also in the distant past.
I suggest doing whatever works for you. As far as the gum, well I think it just feeds the nicotine habit rather than cures it. But hey, I'm not a doctor so don't take my word for it.
I do know of a few folks who joined support groups like Smokers Anonymous (same 12 step program as AA) and it worked. Just another option.
I sincerely hope you find a way, but don't beat yourself up too much over it, it is hard and I hope I didn't trivialize it too much.
Thanks, I will look into the support groups, who knows, maybe it'll work.
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